INDIANAPOLIS — In Tuesday’s Game 5, Miles McBride drew the Tyrese Haliburton assignment, attacked it with gusto and held the Pacers All-Star to just 13 points — well below his average.
Still, it wasn’t satisfactory.
“Obviously he didn’t go scoreless, and he was still impactful in a way,” McBride said ahead of Friday night’s Game 6. “So my goal is for guys to go scoreless and to make as minimum of an impact on the game.”
The adjustment to start McBride for Game 5’s victory turned into, arguably, the best of the series from Tom Thibodeau.
Not only did McBride stifle Haliburton, he dropped 17 points with three 3-pointers and helped spread the floor for Jalen Brunson’s heroics at MSG.
The anticipated rebounding disadvantage by going with a small lineup — McBride, the smallest player on the Knicks roster, replaced power forward Precious Achiuwa — never materialized.
In fact, the Knicks obliterated the Pacers on the boards in Game 5, 53-29, and Josh Hart did a passing job as the power forward defending the much taller Pascal Siakam.
Coming back to Indy for Game 6 — during what represented an elimination game for the Pacers — McBride expected Haliburton would be more “aggressive” and confident.
The Pacers entered Friday on a 10-game winning streak at home and hadn’t lost at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in almost two months.
“I think I’ve got to go up a level,” McBride said. “We do as a whole team. I think if we do things the same way, we might not get the same result if you don’t go up a level.”
Added Josh Hart: “I haven’t talked to [McBride]. He knows what it is. He knows obviously he had a really good Game 5, and we always say one game doesn’t affect the other. So we know Tyrese is going to come home aggressive. They’re a different team at home. We know that going in and we have to make sure that we throw that punch first and when they go on runs, being able to minimize that.”
Haliburton was dominant in the first two games of the series at Indianapolis, where he averaged 34.5 points in Pacers victories.
In those games, he was mostly guarded by Donte DiVincenzo.
Thibodeau then made the switch to McBride in Game 5, which was essentially the opposite move from the Sixers series.
In that first-round matchup, McBride was struggling to stop Tyrese Maxey before DiVincenzo was handed the assignment and put the clamps on the Sixers point guard in the elimination Game 6.
With DiVincenzo, the strong defense translated to his offense (he scored his series-best 23 in that Game 6 in Philly).
Just like with McBride against the Pacers in Game 5.
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“A lot of times when you give guys those kind of top defensive assignments, it allows them to lock in better, focus more,” Hart said. “And it brings that competitive side out, so they’re able to do that and then offensively that gets them going. Deuce is someone that for a lot of top guards that we put on and have him compete as best as he can. It’s something we’re comfortable doing and when he does that, offensively it kind of really gets him into a rhythm and into the game.”
McBride has had a rollercoaster season and playoffs.
He was out of the rotation to begin the campaign and signed a three-year contract extension in December.
A source said one of the big reasons the Knicks pushed for that extension at that time is it came in just before the deadline for McBride to become trade-eligible prior to opening of 2024 free agency.
Trades and injuries thrust McBride into the lineup, and he took full advantage while helping thwart, among others, Steph Curry in a victory at Golden State.
Then he went back to a reserve role in the playoffs — managing just seven combined points in three straight games before last week — and returned to the very prominent role in Game 5 against Indy because of OG Anunoby’s injury.
“I never wavered,” McBride said. “I always made sure I was mentally tough through the ups and downs of a whole season, so just wanted to stay ready.”
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